LIONS EYE BANK OF DELAWARE VALLEY
CELEBRATES
SIXTY YEARS OF SERVICE SAVING SIGHT SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2017
Gift of Life Donor Program PRESENTING SPONSOR
Celebrating Our 60th Anniversary
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GRANT ROOM WELCOME & MISSION PRESENTATIONS Welcome. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jim Quirk President & Chief Executive Officer Lions Eye Bank of Delaware Valley Special Guest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Christian Guardino Semi-finalist “America’s Got Talent” National Anthem Who’s Loving You “Sight Seeker Award” Presentation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sadeer B. Hannush, M.D. Co-Director, Medical Advisory Board
Eye Bank Association of America Presentation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kevin Corcoran Chief Executive Officer Eye Bank Association of America
Medical Director Address. . . . . . . . Sadeer B. Hannush, M.D. Co-Medical Director Lions Eye Bank of Delaware Valley Keynote Speaker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Benjamin Roberts, M.D. “Special Guest Video”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Robert Abel, M.D. Medical Advisory Board Member Lions Eye Bank of Delaware Valley Maxine Rice Director of Development Lions Eye Bank of Delaware Valley
Knight of the Blind Award Presentations. . . . . . . . . . Jim Quirk President & Chief Executive Officer Lions Eye Bank of Delaware Valley HONOREES Joseph P. Bilson Chief Executive Officer Wills Eye Hospital Executive Director of the Board of Directors of City Trusts
MEADE ROOM
Howard M. Nathan President & Chief Executive Officer Gift of Life Donor Program
LUNCHEON & AWARDS PROGRAM Welcome. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . William L. Sauser, Jr., PDG Chairman of the Board Lions Eye Bank of Delaware Valley
Eugene S. “Gene” Polgar, PID Former President & Chief Operating Officer
Invocation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ted Reiver, PID
Irving M. Raber, M.D., FRCS(C) Ophthalmic Partners Medical Advisory Board Member Lions Eye Bank of Delaware Valley
Lions Toast. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . James Cavallaro, PID Champagne Toast. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gene S. Polgar, PID A Message from Lions Club International President, Naresh Aggarwal, M.D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Melvyn Bray, PID Recognition of LEBDV Board of Trustees. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . William L. Sauser, Jr., PDG Chairman of the Board Lions Eye Bank of Delaware Valley
Closing Remarks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lion Ann E. Reiver, PCT 1st Vice Chair, Board of Trustees Lions Eye Bank of Delaware Valley Co-Chair, 60th Anniversary Committee
LUNCH
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LIONS EYE BANK OF DELAWARE VALLEY | 2017
Lion Norman Imaoka Co-Chair, 60th Anniversary Committee
GOOD MORNING It is with great pleasure I welcome each of you to the Lions Eye Bank of Delaware Valley’s 60th Anniversary Celebration! On March 23, 1957, dedicated and visionary Lions answered Helen Keller’s call to become knights of the blind. They formed the Eye Foundation of Delaware Valley, an organization that would later become Lions Eye Bank of Delaware Valley (LEBDV). In the six decades since then, the Eye Bank has come a long way. Our founders could never have conceived of the advances we’ve made, from the elimination of waiting lists to highly specialized, layer-specific transplants. But with all these changes, one thing has remained the same: The Eye Bank is a steadfast advocate for the corneal blind in the Delaware Valley and beyond. Behind every successful corneal transplant is a talented team of compassionate people who work tirelessly every single day. Our dedicated staff, Board of Trustees, volunteers, surgeons, nurses, technicians and countless other donation professionals selflessly devote their time, talents and hearts to better the lives of others. Today we pay special tribute to four distinguished individuals who have helped us immeasurably to reach our many tremendous milestones. These gentlemen represent the past, present and future of our organization: Joseph P. Bilson, Chief Executive Officer of Wills Eye Hospital Howard M. Nathan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Gift of Life Donor Program Gene Polgar, Past International Director of Lions Clubs International and Former President of Lions Eye Bank of Delaware Valley Irving Raber, M.D., FRCS(C), Ophthalmic Partners I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation to everyone who has contributed to making today’s celebration of our 60 years of service a wonderful success. Please know your efforts reach far beyond this event. Look around this room. Look in the eyes of the cornea recipients whose sight you helped restore and whose lives you helped change. You’ll understand the magnitude of your contributions. We leave you today with a very special gift—a collection of letters and quotes to memorialize the heroic donors who have given the Gift of Sight. This gift is our way of saying thank you for supporting Lions Eye Bank of Delaware Valley, and for ensuring that the Gift of Sight will be a reality for decades to come.
Sincerely, Jim Quirk, President and Chief Executive Officer
Celebrating Our 60th Anniversary
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OUR SINCERE GRATITUDE Thank you all for joining us as we celebrate “Sixty Years of Service Saving Sight!” 2017 is a year of celebration: 60 years since the founding of Lions Eye Bank of Delaware Valley, along with the 100-year anniversary of Lions Clubs International. Both organizations should be very proud of what they have accomplished. I would like to acknowledge our committed Board of Trustees and staff for their dedication and devotion to our mission of preserving and restoring sight. Your time and efforts are treasured and truly help make miracles happen on a daily basis. I would also like to extend my sincerest appreciation to our President and CEO, Jim Quirk, for his excellent leadership. Jim’s commitment to LEBDV is reinforced by his extensive experience and continued involvement with the Eye Bank Association of America. We commend his continued efforts to ensure that what local Lions Clubs members have built will stay true to the values that have made LEBDV the reputable institution it is today. Over the past 60 years, our Eye Bank has provided over 43,000 corneas for transplantation. We recognize and send our prayers to our donor families who, without their loss of a loved one and their very personal decision to donate, we would not be able to provide the “Gift of Sight” for our recipients. The Lions toast ‘Not Above You, Not Beneath You, But With You’ says it all. The Eye Bank Board of Trustees, along with our dedicated staff, the corneal surgeons, donor families, recipients and the entire transplantation community enable us to meet and surpass all future challenges.
Thank You, PDG Bill Sauser Chairman of the Board of Trustees
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LIONS EYE BANK OF DELAWARE VALLEY | 2017
LEBDV BOARD OF TRUSTEES 2017-2018 LEBDV BOARD OF TRUSTEES 2017-2018 PDG John E. PDG Robert C. Allen Millea
EXECUTIVE OFFICERS PDG William J. Sauser, Jr., Chairman of the Board of Trustees
PDG George Bonadio
PDG James J. Minnich
Angel ‘Bob’ Perez, Immediate Past Chairman
PID Melvyn K. Bray
Lion Nelson Moeller
PCT Ann E. Reiver, 1st Vice Chairperson
Lion Joseph Cutolo, Jr.
PCC Mary Devon O’Brien
PDG Earl Groendyke, 2nd Vice Chairman
PDG James Davis
Lion Arthur Pecht
PDG Philip E. Shober, Secretary/Treasurer
PDG Robert L. Elsner
PZC Christopher Smith
Lion Rev. Frederick S. Richardett, Chaplain
PDG Fred Frisch
PDG Keith L. Thompson
TRUSTEE LEGAL ADVISOR IPDG Albert Olizi, Esq.
PCS Marion S. Goldberg
PDG Richard H. Wilson
PRIVILEGED BOARD MEMBERS PDG Herbert T. Gerhart
Lion Mark M. Green
PDG Richard W. Zimmermann, Jr.
PDDG William G. Hansen PDG Barry L. Hinkle PDG Walter L. Labs PID Robert W. Moore
PDG David E. Jones
Lion Bruce D. Pollock PDG David L. Smith
HONORARY BOARD MEMBERS PCC Joseph T. Bocklage
Lion Robert Perry
Lion Herbert E. McMahon
Lion John J. Reese Celebrating Our 60th Anniversary
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CELEBRATING SIXTY YEARS OF SERVICE SAVING SIGHT Lions Eye Bank of Delaware Valley, a nonprofit organization, provides area residents with the highest-quality and safest corneal tissue available. More than 1,000 people have their sight restored through corneal transplantation in the tri-state area each year, and many more benefit from medical research and education made possible by donated eye tissue. Since 1957, the Eye Bank has helped coordinate over 43,000 surgeries. Working diligently—24 hours per day, 365 days per year—the Eye Bank is committed to making the corneal transplant process as easy as possible for all of our recipients.
MEDICAL ADVISORY BOARD
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Sadeer B. Hannush, M.D., Medical Director
Peter R. Laibson, M.D., Medical Director
Robert Abel, M.D.
Brandon D. Ayres, M.D.
Kristin Hammersmith, M.D.
Stephen E. Orlin, M.D.
Irving M. Raber, M.D.
Christopher Rapuano, M.D.
LIONS EYE BANK OF DELAWARE VALLEY | 2017
DEAR BOARD AND STAFF OF LIONS EYE BANK OF DELAWARE VALLEY: Namaste! Congratulations on your 60th anniversary! This anniversary is an opportunity for you to reflect on what you have accomplished and look forward to new opportunities to serve. Your compassion and dedication has made your eye bank a vital part of your community and has helped Lions Clubs International remain the global leader in service for a century. The first Lions Eye Bank was established in New York in 1944. Since then, the network of eye banks sponsored or supported by Lions has grown. Collectively, Lions Eye Banks around the world have enabled literally hundreds of thousands of people to regain their sight. The Delaware Valley Eye Bank was an initiative of caring, concerned people who understood that working together for the greater good of all can make a significant impact. That’s the Power of We. You are helping our association reach new heights as we embrace our future and celebrate our tradition of making the world a better place through service. Your continued commitment and hard work ensures that your eye bank will continue to provide a vital service to your community. Congratulations again on your anniversary, and thank you for 60 years of dedicated service.
Sincerely, Dr. Naresh Aggarwal, Your International President
PDG John E. & Mary Eleanor Allen Past President 1996-1997 | Past Chairman & CEO 2001-2002
Happy 60th Anniversary! Celebrating Our 60th Anniversary
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CO-MEDICAL DIRECTOR SADEER B. HANNUSH, M.D. Sadeer B. Hannush, M.D., is Attending Surgeon on the Cornea Service at Wills Eye Hospital, Department of Ophthalmology, at Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, and completed his Ophthalmology Residency at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He then went on to fellowship training in Corneal and Refractive Surgery at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Hannush’s areas of interest are full and partial thickness corneal transplantation (endothelial and deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty), permanent keratoprosthesis surgery (artificial cornea), complex cataract and anterior segment reconstructive procedures, and laser vision correction. He lectures nationally and internationally on these topics (including Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, the United Kingdom, France, Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria, Spain, Italy, Egypt, South Africa, Kenya, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, South Korea and Australia). He has multiple publications in peer-reviewed literature and chapters in ophthalmology texts. Dr. Hannush is a Fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, a Diplomate of the American Board of Ophthalmology, and a Member of the American Medical Association, the Cornea Society (where he served as Program Chair for four years), the Ocular Microbiology and Immunology Group, the International Society of Refractive Surgeons of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, the European Society of Corneal and Ocular Surface Specialists, and the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons. Dr. Hannush has been named in “The Best Doctors in Philadelphia” as well as “The Best Doctors in The United States.” In 1998 he received the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s Honor Award for distinguished service in education. At the 2008 American Academy of Ophthalmology Meeting, he received the Senior Achievement Award. The Wills Eye Hospital resident class of 2000 presented him with the Excellence in Teaching Award. Together with Wills Eye Hospital Ophthalmologist-in-Chief, Dr. Julia Haller, Executive Director, Mr. Joe Bilson, and fellow surgeon, Dr. Brad Feldman, Dr. Hannush originated W.I.R.E. (Wills International Resident Experience), during which the Wills Eye Hospital senior residents spend time abroad experiencing the delivery of ophthalmic care in a third world setting. Dr. Hannush is Co-Medical Director of the Lions Eye Bank of Delaware Valley (LEBDV) and an Advisory Board Member of the Eye Bank Association of America. He first joined LEBDV in 1988 as a corneal surgeon following completion of his fellowship at Emory. He was later asked to join LEBDV’s Medical Advisory Board, and in 2007, was appointed Co-Medical Director with Dr. Peter Laibson. He has since been responsible for the institution of procedures and methods for LEBDV to prepare tissue for endothelial keratoplasty (partial-thickness corneal transplantation) used by corneal surgeons throughout the Delaware Valley. This required the acquisition of special equipment (microkeratomes), surgical microscopes and a laminar flow hood. As endothelial keratoplasty techniques evolved from Descemet-stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK) to Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK), Dr. Hannush arranged for LEBDV’s technicians to receive extra training to prepare and provide appropriate tissue for this procedure. LEBDV is proud to offer pre-stripped, pre-punched, pre-stained, pre-marked, and, soon, pre-loaded DMEK tissue for its surgeons and their patients. Dr. Hannush has performed and taught corneal transplantation in Italy, Spain, Egypt and Kenya, where he started a transplant program at Tenwek Mission Hospital in Western Kenya. This was made possible by generous donations of corneal tissue on many occasions by LEBDV, which serves patients in need of the gift of sight around the world. Teaming up with LEBDV President and CEO, Jim Quirk, as well as the Eye Bank’s dedicated Board of Trustees, Dr. Hannush helped develop the Gratis Tissue Program to support uninsured and underinsured patients in the Delaware Valley receive the gift of sight. 7
LIONS EYE BANK OF DELAWARE VALLEY | 2017
IT IS A PRIVILEGE Welcome Lions Eye Bank of Delaware Valley (LEBDV) team, Board of Trustees, corneal surgeons, family and honored guests to our 60th Anniversary Celebration! One of the first eye banks in the United States, LEBDV provides the gift of sight through corneal transplantation to over 1,000 individuals living in Southeastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey and Delaware annually. I have been associated with LEBDV for almost three decades and have served as Co-Medical Director for the last decade. Ours is a medium size eye bank with a big eye bank mentality focusing on cutting edge technology and the collection, processing and distribution of high quality tissue. Throughout its existence LEBDV has been at the forefront of technology, research and education. After decades of providing tissue for full-thickness corneal transplantation (approximately 1/50th of an inch thick), in 2005 we started providing tissue for selective corneal layer transplantation such as Descemet’s stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK), tissue that is 1/250th of an inch thick, and in 2013, Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK), tissue that is less than 1/1000th of an inch thick! This required many changes to our physical space, acquisition of equipment, technician training, and the implementation of new procedures and methods. In the last decade and a half, LEBDV has participated in two major research studies. The cornea donor study (CDS) evaluated donor age in relation to graft survival in recipients and debunked an age-old myth about the lack of utility of older corneal tissue, thus significantly increasing the donor pool. More recently we completed the three-year follow-up for recipients enrolled in the cornea preservation time study (CPTS), which evaluated DSAEK corneal graft survival in relation to the elapsed time between donor tissue preservation and transplantation. The exciting results of this study were announced at the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s annual meeting in New Orleans, LA. Our education effort in LEBDV’s service area continues unabated both amongst the potential donor pool as well as recipients and their families, sharing with them the complexities and truly herculean behind-the-scene efforts expended by LEBDV’s team of professionals to make high quality, safe tissue available for transplantation. Many of our patients have responded by becoming active participants in this educational effort, donating their time and resources. Finally, we continue to expand our gratis fund—established by our President and CEO, Jim Quirk, and supported by our Board of Trustees and its Chairman, PDG William Sauser—that makes corneal transplantation possible for uninsured and underinsured recipients. It has also made it possible for us to use our surplus tissue on mission trips to distant lands, where access to corneal transplantation remains rare at best. Tonight we celebrate Dr. Peter Laibson’s half-century of service to LEBDV as Medical Director with the Sight Seeker award. We also honor Mr. Joseph P. Bilson, Executive Director of Wills Eye Hospital, Mr. Howard M. Nathan, President and CEO of Gift of Life, Mr. Gene Polgar, PID of Lions Clubs International, and our own Dr. Irving Raber, a leading national and international authority in the field of corneal transplantation. We also welcome with great enthusiasm our Keynote Speaker, Dr. Ben Roberts, who has dedicated his life-long career to service at Tenwek Hospital in Bomet, Kenya. On the auspicious occasion of our 60th anniversary, it is indeed a privilege to be associated with LEBDV and its team of professionals that bring the Gift of Sight to many in the Delaware Valley and beyond. We welcome you and thank you for your continued support of Lions Eye Bank of Delaware Valley. Sincerely, Sadeer B. Hannush, M.D.
Celebrating Our 60th Anniversary
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CO-MEDICAL DIRECTOR PETER R. LAIBSON, M.D. Peter R. Laibson, M.D., is the director emeritus of the Cornea Service and Co-Medical Director of the Lions Eye Bank of Delaware Valley. He received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Vermont and attended medical school at the State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center. After completing his residency at Wills Eye Hospital in 1964 and a corneal fellowship at Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary with Professor Claes Dohlman in 1965, Dr. Laibson returned to Will Eye Hospital where he joined the Cornea Service under Dr. Wilfred Fry. He was the director of the Cornea Service from 1973 through 1999, when he passed the directorship to Dr. Elisabeth Cohen. Dr. Laibson is an internationally-recognized expert in cornea and external disease. He was the first ophthalmologist to practice the subspecialty of cornea full time at Wills Eye Hospital. He and his associates have trained over 200 ophthalmologists as corneal fellows at Wills. He has published 350 articles and chapters in the ophthalmic literature. His expertise lies in his knowledge of corneal diseases, corneal dystrophies and degenerations, viral diseases of the eye, particularly herpes simplex, herpes zoster and adenovirus, and corneal transplantation. He was involved in research on the first anti-viral drug used for herpes simplex virus infections in the eye. He has been on the editorial board of many significant ophthalmology journals during his career. Dr. Laibson has served on the FDA Advisory Committee and on numerous committees of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO). He has been the president of the Cornea Society and is the recipient of numerous awards and lectureships, including the Lifetime Achievement Award of the AAO, which he received in 1999, the Castroviejo Medal of the Cornea Society and the Dohlman Award of the Cornea Society. He has been a member of the American Ophthalmological Society for 36 years and is an ARVO Fellow. At the VI World Cornea Congress in 2010, he was one of the five International Medalist Recipients. Dr. Laibson is married to Ruth Segal Laibson. His children are David Laibson, Rebecca Popell and Rachel Laibson.
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LIONS EYE BANK OF DELAWARE VALLEY | 2017
CONGRATULATIONS Thank you for joining Lions Eye Bank of Delaware Valley (LEBDV) as we celebrate “Sixty Years of Service Saving Sight!” Having served as Medical Director for 50 years, I am privileged to be marking this milestone year with each of you this afternoon. When I was head of the Cornea Service at Wills Eye Hospital in 1971, there was a waiting list of about 300 patients for corneal transplant. Patients would wait a year or more before a cornea became available. Younger patients had to wait even longer because in those days, doctors believed the donor and recipient needed to be close in age. Patients would live in darkness, and their vision would suffer. Recovering donor tissue for surgery was much different than it is today. The public was not as aware of eye, organ and tissue donation. Volunteers from local Lions Clubs distributed registration cards in hospitals and other venues to educate patients and register them to be eye donors. At that time, cornea recovery had to be done within four hours of a patient’s death. Because of the short time window, it was very difficult to get consent from a donor’s family. The Eye Bank did not have technicians of its own to recover tissue; it relied initially on first-year residents at Wills Eye Hospital and then funeral directors. The timing of distribution was critical. State police and volunteers delivered tissue to surgeons, who were then responsible for processing the tissue for surgery—all within 48 hours of the patient’s death. Eventually, laws were passed, including Pennsylvania’s Act 102, that eliminated the local waiting list for corneal tissue. New techniques resulted in faster recovery and equitable distribution. The success rate of a corneal transplant went from 35 to 95 percent. Today, the Eye Bank has a full staff. Its trained technicians process tissue quickly and efficiently for patients’ and surgeons’ requirements. Where we previously did transplants for people with very bad vision, we now perform transplants on patients earlier in their optical disease. I would like to congratulate our distinguished honorees who have supported LEBDV tremendously over the years and continue to do so: Joseph P. Bilson, Chief Executive Officer, Wills Eye Hospital Howard M. Nathan, President and Chief Executive Officer, Gift of Life Donor Program PID Gene Polgar, Former President and Chief Operating Officer, Lions Eye Bank of Delaware Valley Irving Raber, MD, FRCS(C), Ophthalmic Partners There are many people who contribute to making the Gift of Sight possible. I would like to acknowledge the Eye Bank staff, Board of Trustees, Medical Advisory Board, surgeons, donor families, volunteers and countless other donation professionals who bring our mission to life. Thank you all for your continued dedication and support. As the Eye Bank celebrates 60 years, surgeons and patients benefit from the most advanced treatment available in the field.
Sincerely, Peter R. Laibson, M.D.
Celebrating Our 60th Anniversary
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KEYNOTE SPEAKER BENJAMIN W. ROBERTS, M.D. Benjamin W. Roberts, M.D., graduated from The University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine and completed his residency training in the Department of Ophthalmology. He began working as a staff vitreoretinal surgeon at Retina Consultants of Alabama following completion of his fellowship training in 2005. During his fourth year as a medical student, he did a rotation at Tenwek Hospital in Bomet, Kenya. Dr. Roberts has served as a medical missionary at Tenwek since 2006. He relocated his wife, Jenny, and their three children, Luke, Isaac and Nate, to provide quality eye care in Kenya’s underserved community where an estimated 14 million people suffer from vision impairment. Dr. Roberts is one of four retina specialists in a country of 33 million people and the only retina specialist outside of its capital city of Nairobi. Dr. Roberts has treated a wide range of ophthalmic disorders including complex retinal conditions, cataracts, advanced ocular infections, glaucoma and eye trauma. Many of these conditions had previously gone untreated. Dr. Roberts has been influential in educating East African ophthalmology residents, nurses and others interested in learning the basics of eye care. The clinical practice he developed in Kenya has flourished not only from excellence in eye care, but from genuine humanity and compassion. Dr. Roberts’ empathy is driven by a passion for service to God and his fellow man. He serves as an inspiration to his colleagues, medical students and the surgical teams he leads. Lions Eye Bank of Delaware Valley (LEBDV) has a long-standing commitment to international humanitarian care. Since 2012, the Eye Bank has supported Dr. Roberts and Tenwek Hospital with 100 gratis corneas for sight-restoring transplantation.
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LIONS EYE BANK OF DELAWARE VALLEY | 2017
SPECIAL GUEST CHRISTIAN GUARDINO Christian Guardino is a 17-year-old “America’s Got Talent” semi-finalist and Howie Mandel’s 2017 Golden Buzzer winner. Christian, who is from Long Island, New York, also won the grand prize at Amateur Night at The Apollo in 2014. He was featured on FOX’s “Showtime at The Apollo” with host Steve Harvey and also performed a duet with Jordin Sparks at Michelle Obama’s Partnership for a Healthier America’s gala in 2016. He was a red carpet featured performer in NYC’s 73rd Columbus Day Parade and will be performing at Westbury Theater in December.
@christianguardinoinspires /christianguardino @christiansings christianguardino.com
Christian was born with a rare genetic eye disease called Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA), which forced him to live in darkness for most of his life. Christian’s sight, however, never stopped him from pursuing his dreams. His first performance was at nine-years-old, and he had to navigate on stage with a cane. At 13-years-old, Christian entered the RPE65 gene therapy clinical trial conducted by Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Spark Therapeutics. Since then, Christian has enjoyed a 75–80 percent improvement in his vision. Christian is currently a high school senior. He is a medical, musical miracle who has had his sight restored with new, groundbreaking experimental gene therapy. Christian recently testified before the FDA advisory board hearing to share his miracle testimony prior to a unanimous vote to approve.
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Celebrating Our 60th Anniversary
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Creating Miracles of Sight Since 1957
1980
1957
PID Gene S. Polgar becomes Executive Director. LEBDV moves with Wills Eye Hospital to its new facility in Center City Philadelphia.
The Eye Foundation of Delaware Valley, or Lions Eye Bank of Delaware Valley (LEBDV), is founded.
1905
1988
1964
Dr. Eduard Zirm performs the first successful corneal transplant in Austria.
LEBDV moves into Wills Eye Hospital on Spring Garden Street in Philadelphia.
LEBDV begins its Recovery Technician Training Program.
1967 1925 Lions Clubs International adopts sight conservation as its mission after a plea from Helen Keller. Volunteer Lions begin the recovery of eyes for corneal transplantation.
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State routine referral laws end corneal transplant waiting list.
1961
LIONS EYE BANK OF DELAWARE VALLEY | 2017
LEBDV merges with the Medical Eye Bank of Delaware.
1995
Peter Laibson, M.D., is installed as the first Medical Director.
The Eye Bank Association of America (EBAA) is founded with 25 member Eye Banks. LEBDV is one of the founding charter members. Today, the EBAA has more than 100 member Eye Banks, including international Eye Banks.
1996
1983 LEBDV facilitates the establishment of the National Ambassadors for Corneal Transplantation (NACT), supporting pre-and post-op cornea recipient patients.
60th Anniversary Committee Members PCT Ann E. Reiver, Co-Chair
PDG George Bonadio
Nancy Houston
Ruth Laibson
PDG Philip Shober
Lion Norman Imaoka, Co-Chair
ID Melvyn Bray
Lion Peg Huebner
PCC Mary Devon O’Brien
Joanne Weidner
Dr. Robert Abel, M.D.
Lorena Hannush
PDG David Jones
Jim Quirk, President/CEO
PDG Richard W. Zimmermann, Jr.
2014 Tissue processing program is expanded to include tissue for Descemet’s Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty (DMEK).
2007 LEBDV opens the board to non-Lions. Sadeer B. Hannush, M.D., is installed as Co-Medical Director.
2004 LEBDV moves into the Gift of Life Donor Program building in the Northern Liberties section of Philadelphia.
2017
2011 Jim Quirk becomes President/CEO.
2012
2005
LEBDV recovers corneas from 30,000th donor and invests in lab expansion and equipment upgrade.
An endowment fund is established to help expand programs and benefit people in need of sight-restoring corneal transplants.
2008 1999 LEBDV installs its first female Lion board member, Mary Devon O’Brien, PCC.
LEBDV celebrates 60 years servicing the Delaware Valley community and humanitarian efforts beyond our borders. Lions Clubs International celebrates its 100th anniversary.
LEBDV begins to offer processed tissue for a layer-specific transplant procedure—Descemet’s Stripping Automated Endothelial Keratoplasty (DSAEK).
2015 Recipient Kit Program and Gratis Tissue Fund are launched. To date, the Gratis Tissue Fund has helped save or restore sight to almost 250 people in need.
LEBDV installs the first female Chairperson, Mary Devon O'Brien, who implements a charity fund to help community members in need of vision-related services.
Celebrating Our 60th Anniversary
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HONORING JOSEPH P. BILSON
Chief Executive Officer Wills Eye Hospital – Philadelphia, PA Executive Director of the Board of Directors of City Trusts
As Chief Executive Officer since 2007, Joseph P. Bilson has developed an impressive record of success. Mr. Bilson’s leadership has achieved clinical volume goals through aggressive program development and robust financial performance during some of the harshest global economic periods on record. Mr. Bilson’s accomplishments have been many during his tenure of over 30 years with Wills Eye. He strategically planned and developed a very successful network of multi-state ambulatory surgery centers. Since 1995, Mr. Bilson has served as President of the Wills Eye Surgical Network. Mr. Bilson is the immediate past chairperson of the American Association of Eye and Ear Centers of Excellence. Under his leadership, Wills Eye has consistently ranked as one of the top ophthalmic specialty hospitals by U.S. News & World Report. In addition to his role as CEO at Wills Eye, Mr. Bilson is the Executive Director of the Board of Directors of City Trusts. In that role, he manages a billion dollar investment and real estate portfolio. Prior to Wills Eye, Mr. Bilson held positions with the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Mercy Catholic Medical Center. Mr. Bilson attended Penn State University and Rowan University. He is a graduate of the School of Business with concentrations in Accounting and Finance. He graduated magna cum laude with honors. Mr. Bilson lives in New Jersey with his wife of over 30 years, Eileen, and together they have one son, Joseph.
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LIONS EYE BANK OF DELAWARE VALLEY | 2017
HOWARD M. NATHAN
President & Chief Executive Officer Gift of Life Donor Program – Philadelphia, PA
Howard Nathan is the President & CEO of Philadelphia-based Gift of Life Donor Program which now employs over 200 professionals. He began working at the organization in 1978 as a transplant coordinator and has led the organization since 1984. Gift of Life is the largest and one of the oldest of the 58 organ procurement organizations in the United States, having coordinated more than 44,000 organs for transplantation and 750,000 tissue transplants since 1974. Gift of Life has 15 transplant centers with 42 organ-specific programs and 129 donor hospitals. Mr. Nathan is also the President of the Transplant Foundation, Founder and President of the Gift of Life Institute, an international research and training center for donation and transplantation professionals established in 2004, and President of the Gift of Life Family House. Mr. Nathan is regarded as one of the nation’s leading authorities on organ and tissue donation. He was elected to the Board of Directors for the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) for three terms and served as Treasurer. Mr. Nathan is a past president of the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations (AOPO), past president of the Coalition on Donation (now Donate Life America), and past president of the International Society for Organ Donation and Procurement (ISODP). Mr. Nathan currently serves on the following boards: Delaware Valley Healthcare Council (DVHC), Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation (MTF) Governing Board and Donation Board of Trustees, the Pennsylvania Governor’s Organ Donation Advisory Committee, National Disease Research Interchange (NDRI) and LifeLogics, Inc. He also served on the Advisory Committee on Organ Transplantation (ACOT), National Kidney Foundation (NKF), North American Transplant Coordinators Organization (NATCO), James Redford Institute for Transplant Awareness and American Red Cross Blood Services (Penn Jersey Region). A visible figure in the field of transplantation, Mr. Nathan is a regular presenter at regional, national and international organ and tissue procurement, transplantation and medical/healthcare conferences, and has published more than 350 scientific papers and abstracts in his 39-year tenure. He is consulted regularly by members of the media and has appeared on national and international TV news and talk programs (CNN, MSNBC, Geraldo, Donohue, Morton Downey Jr., CCTV (China), NHK (Japan)). Mr. Nathan was presented with The Belzer Award for outstanding abstract at the 4th International Society for Organ Sharing Congress in 1997. He received numerous outstanding achievement awards from national organizations including: National Kidney Foundation, U.S. Transplant Games Committee (1992), National Kidney Foundation of Delaware Valley (1994), Association of Organ Procurement Organization’s Outstanding Achievement Award (1996), American Liver Foundation (2002), NDRI Award for “Distinguished Service to Science” (2007), LifeNet Health’s Exemplary Service Award (2007), and Juniata College Alumni Achievement Award (2017).
Celebrating Our 60th Anniversary
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HONORING GENE POLGAR
Past International Director of Lions Clubs International Former President & Chief Operating Officer Lions Eye Bank of Delaware Valley
Eugene S. “Gene” Polgar, of Malvern, Pennsylvania, served a two-year term as a director of The International Association of Lions Clubs following his election at the association’s 78th International Convention held in Seoul, Korea, Republic of Korea, July 4-7, 1995. He has been a Lion for 52 years and held many positions locally, statewide and internationally. He served as the Presidential Board Appointee in 1997-98; as Treasurer of the USA/Canada Lions Leadership Forum: 1999-2002, and again from 2006-2009. He also served as Chairman of the 2005 USA/Canada Lions Leadership Forum Planning Committee held in Peoria, Illinois. He is the recipient of the “Ambassador of Goodwill Award”: the highest award bestowed by Lions International and is a Progressive Melvin Jones Fellow – 8 Diamond. Past Director Polgar was President and Chief Operating Officer of the Lions Eye Bank of Delaware Valley for 30 years. As such, he has extensive knowledge of Eye Banking—from the initial call regarding a prospective eye donor, to obtaining, processing and distribution of eye tissue for use in corneal transplantation, education and medical research. He also served as the Eye Bank’s “Lions Ambassador” traveling the tri-state area promoting the vision of the Lions Eye Bank of Delaware Valley and its mission to provide quality donor eye tissue for use in the restoration of sight. Highly regarded by the Eye Bank community throughout the United States and Canada, Past Director Polgar received numerous awards for his distinguished service in the eye banking field. He received the Heise Award from the Eye Bank Association of America, the governing body for Eye Banks throughout the United States and Canada which is the highest honor bestowed upon its members. He has also been honored by fellow Eye Banks and received the New Jersey Eye Bank’s “2011 Visionary Award.” Past Director Polgar is Immediate Past Present and Board Member of the PID James E. “Bing” Miller Foundation. Past Director Polgar serves as a General Service Associate at Target. He has three children, six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
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IRVING RABER, M.D., FRCS(C) Ophthalmic Partners – Bala Cynwyd/King of Prussia/Media/ Philadelphia/Marlton, NJ Medical Advisory Board Lions Eye Bank of Delaware Valley
Irving M. Raber graduated from the University of Manitoba Medical School with a combined M.D. Bsc (Med) Degree in 1971. Dr. Raber did a rotating internship at Toronto General Hospital in Toronto and a residency in Internal Medicine at Winnipeg Health Science Center which he completed in 1975. Dr. Raber also did a residency in Ophthalmology at the University of Toronto and a Fellowship in Corneal and External Diseases at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia from 1978-1979. Dr. Raber was Chief of Cornea Service at Scheie Institute (University of Pennsylvania Department of Ophthalmology) from 1979-1986. In 1986, Dr. Raber joined Ophthalmic Subspecialty Consultants, which is now Ophthalmic Partners of PA where he currently continues an active practice devoted to Cornea/External Eye Disease, Refractive Surgery and Anterior Segment Surgery of the eye. Dr. Raber is listed in the “Best Doctors in Philadelphia” and “Best Doctors in the United States.” Dr. Raber is on staff at numerous area hospitals including Wills Eye Hospital, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Lankenau Hospital and Virtua Health Systems in South Jersey. He is an Assistant Professor at Jefferson Medical College as well as the Attending Surgeon on the Cornea Service at Wills Eye Institute. Dr. Raber has authored many publications and book chapters as well as lectured locally, nationally and internationally, and has made several medical mission trips to perform corneal transplants in Egypt, India and, most recently, Rwanda. He is licentiate of the Medical Council of Canada, a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons (Canada) and a Diplomate of the American Board of Ophthalmology. He is a member of many local and national professional societies, including the American Academy of Ophthalmology Refractive Surgery Group and the International Society of Refractive Surgery. Dr. Raber was one of the initial investigators in 1991 involved with the use of the Excimer Laser to treat moderate myopia.
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THANK YOU
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Thank you for helping Lions Eye Bank of Delaware Valley provide the Gift of Sight for 60 years!
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MEETING THE GROWING DEMAND FOR GRATIS TISSUE Did you know individuals in our own Delaware Valley community are in need of a sight-restoring cornea transplant but are unable to afford the associated costs? Since 2012, requests for gratis corneal tissue have doubled. Gratis tissue requests come from all walks of life and for unpredictable reasons such as trauma, corneal disease, burns and infections. Delaying a cornea transplant can lead to severe pain, gradual loss of vision and even blindness. Founded on the belief that every person deserves the best sight possible, regardless of their financial situation and the rising need for gratis tissue, Lions Eye Bank of Delaware Valley launched the Gratis Tissue Fund in 2014. Lions Eye Bank of Delaware Valley also assists local corneal surgeons who travel overseas to serve impoverished communities where eye and tissue banking do not exist. Although cornea transplants in the United States are performed without a waiting list, medically underserved countries must wait for tissue to be available. The Gratis Tissue Fund is necessary to ensure that those in our community and the doctors serving beyond our borders will continue to have access to sight-restoring or enhancing corneal tissue. To make a donation, please contact Lions Eye Bank of Delaware Valley at (215) 563-1679 or visit our website at www.LEBDV.org.
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60TH ANNIVERSARY SPONSORS PRESENTING Gift of Life Donor Program GOLD PDG George & Nancy Bonadio Wills Eye Hospital SILVER Campio Furniture, LTD. Girard Estates PCT Ann E. Reiver, 1st Vice Chairperson & PID Ted Reiver BRONZE Peter Laibson, M.D., & Ruth Laibson Mutual of Omaha
Ophthalmic Partners Jim & Michelle Quirk
UNDERWRITING COCKTAIL & HORS D’OEUVRES Dickson Furniture
VENUE PDG George & Nancy Bonadio
ENTERTAINMENT Harbor Linen
BENEFACTOR Sadeer B. Hannush, M.D., & Lorena Hannush, M.D.
CONTRIBUTORS PDG John & Mary Eleanor Allen Archer & Greiner Pearl Burger Ellen Craugh East Coast Distribution Center & Furniture Showroom (ECDC) East Freight World Wide Svc Edgewood Furniture Doris France Haddonfield Lions Club PDDG William Hansen Honey Brook Lions Club Peg Huebner PDG David & Sandy Jones Lion Norman & Sandy Imaoka Donald Kurz PDG Walter & Alfreda Labs
Catherine M. Leroi Joseph Martz Mattress Tech Enterprises Patricia McKenna Mid Atlantic Retinal Associates PCC Mary Devon O’Brien IPCBOT Bob & Carmen Perez Rayles Sales LLC Linda Reedy Chairman of the Board of Trustees PDG William & Carol Sauser Society Hill Anesthesia Howard Stredler Mary Walsh Shirley Zakrzewski Zuo Modern
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